Definitions

(1) Payment service providers are 1. undertakings that provide payment services on a commercial basis or on a scale requiring a commercially organised business undertaking, without being payment service providers within the meaning of nos. 2 to 5 (payment institutions); 2. e-money institutions within the meaning of subsection (2), first sentence, no. 1, that are licensed to carry on business under this Act in Germany, insofar as they provide payment services; 3. CRR credit institutions within the meaning of section 1(3d), first sentence of the Banking Act that are licensed to carry on business in Germany, including branches under section 53(1) of the Banking Act that are licensed in Germany to carry on both the deposit business within the meaning of section 1(1), second sentence, no. 1 of the Banking Act and the lending business within the meaning of section 1(1), second sentence, no. 2 of the Banking Act, as well as the undertakings expressly named in Article 2(5), point 5 of Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on access to the activity of credit institutions and the prudential supervision of credit institutions and investment firms, amending Directive 2002/87/EC and repealing Directives 2006/48/EC and 2006/49/EC (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 338; L 208, 2.8.2013, p. 73; L 20, 25.1.2017, p. 1; L 203, 26.6.2020, p. 95), as last amended by Directive (EU) 2019/2034 (OJ L 314, 5.12.2019, p. 64), insofar as they provide payment services; 4. the European Central Bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank and other central banks in the European Union or the other states party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, insofar as they provide payment services otherwise than in their capacity as a monetary authority or other public authority; 5. the Federation, the Länder, the municipalities and associations of municipalities, and the bodies of federal or Land indirect administration, including public debt management, the social insurance institutions and the Federal Employment Agency, insofar as they provide payment services otherwise than in the exercise of public authority. Payment services are 1. the services enabling cash to be placed on a payment account as well as all the operations required for operating a payment account (deposit business); 2. the services enabling cash withdrawals from a payment account as well as all the operations required for operating a payment account (withdrawal business); 3. the execution of payment transactions, including transfers of funds to a payment account with the user's payment service provider or with another payment service provider, through a) the execution of direct debits, including one-off direct debits (direct debit business), b) the execution of payment transactions by means of a payment card or a similar payment instrument (payment card business), c) the execution of credit transfers, including standing orders (credit transfer business), in each case without the granting of credit (payment transaction business); 4. the execution of payment transactions within the meaning of no. 3 that are covered by a credit line for a payment service user within the meaning of section 3(4) (payment transaction business with the granting of credit); 5. the issuing of payment instruments or the acquiring of payment transactions (acquiring business); 6. the services whereby, without a payment account being opened in the name of the payer or of the payee, an amount of money is received from the payer solely for the purpose of transmitting a corresponding amount to a payee or to another payment service provider acting on behalf of the payee, or whereby the amount of money is received on behalf of the payee and made available to the payee (money remittance business); 7. payment initiation services; 8. account information services.
(2) E-money issuers are 1. undertakings that carry on the e-money business, without being e-money issuers within the meaning of nos. 2 to 4 (e-money institutions); 2. CRR credit institutions within the meaning of section 1(3d), first sentence of the Banking Act that are licensed to carry on business in Germany, including branches under section 53(1) of the Banking Act that are licensed in Germany to carry on both the deposit business within the meaning of section 1(1), second sentence, no. 1 of the Banking Act and the lending business within the meaning of section 1(1), second sentence, no. 2 of the Banking Act, as well as the undertakings expressly named in Article 2(5), point 5 of Directive 2013/36/EU, insofar as they carry on the e-money business; 3. the European Central Bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank and other central banks in the European Union or the other states party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, insofar as they carry on the e-money business otherwise than in their capacity as a monetary authority or other public authority; 4. the Federation, the Länder, the municipalities and associations of municipalities, and the bodies of federal or Land indirect administration, including public debt management, the social insurance institutions and the Federal Employment Agency, insofar as they carry on the e-money business otherwise than in the exercise of public authority. E-money business is the issuing of e-money. E-money is any electronically, including magnetically, stored monetary value in the form of a claim on the issuer that is issued on receipt of a sum of money for the purpose of carrying out payment transactions within the meaning of section 675f(4), first sentence of the Civil Code, and that is accepted by natural or legal persons other than the issuer. Monetary value is not e-money if 1. it is stored on instruments within the meaning of section 2(1), no. 10, or 2. it is used only for payment transactions under section 2(1), no. 11.
(3) Institutions within the meaning of this Act are payment institutions and e-money institutions.
(4) Home Member State means the Member State of the European Union (Member State) or other state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area in which the institution has its registered office, or, where the institution has no registered office under the national law applicable to it, the Member State or state party in which its head office is located. Host Member State means any other Member State or state party in which the institution has an agent or a branch, or in which it operates by way of the cross-border provision of services.
(5) A branch is a place of business other than the head office that forms part of an institution, has no legal personality of its own, and carries out directly all or some of the transactions inherent in the business of an institution. All the places of business set up in a Member State by an institution with its head office in another Member State are regarded as a single branch.
(6) A group is a group of undertakings that are linked to one another by a relationship referred to in Article 22(1), (2) or (7) of Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, amending Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC (OJ L 182, 29.6.2013, p. 19; L 369, 24.12.2014, p. 79), as last amended by Directive 2014/102/EU (OJ L 334, 21.11.2014, p. 86), or undertakings within the meaning of Articles 4, 5, 6 and 7 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 241/2014 of 7 January 2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for own funds requirements for institutions (OJ L 74, 14.3.2014, p. 8), as last amended by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/923 (OJ L 150, 17.6.2015, p. 1), that are linked to one another by a relationship referred to in Article 10(1) or Article 113(6) or (7) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 1; L 208, 2.8.2013, p. 68; L 321, 30.11.2013, p. 6; L 193, 21.7.2015, p. 166), as last amended by Regulation (EU) 2016/1014 (OJ L 171, 29.6.2016, p. 153).
(7) A significant holding within the meaning of this Act is a qualifying holding within the meaning of Article 4(1), point 36 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, as amended from time to time. Section 1(9), second and third sentences of the Banking Act apply correspondingly to the existence and the calculation of a significant holding.
(8) Managers within the meaning of this Act are those natural persons who, under statute, articles of association or partnership agreement, are called upon to conduct the business of, and represent, an institution constituted as a legal person or commercial partnership. In exceptional cases the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) may also revocably designate as a manager another person entrusted with conducting the business and authorised to represent the institution, provided that person is reliable and has the requisite professional qualifications. Where the designation of a person as manager is based on an application by the institution, it must be revoked on the application of the institution or of the manager.
(9) An agent within the meaning of this Act is any natural or legal person who, as an independent trader, executes payment services in the name of an institution. The acts of the agent are attributed to the institution.
(10) An e-money agent within the meaning of this Act is any natural or legal person who, as an independent trader, is engaged in the distribution or redemption of e-money in the name of an e-money institution.
(10a) Outsourcing undertakings within the meaning of this Act are undertakings to which an institution has outsourced activities and processes for carrying out payment services, the e-money business, or other services typical of institutions, together with their sub-contractors in the case of further outsourcing of activities and processes that are material to the carrying out of payment services, the e-money business, or other services typical of institutions.
(11) A payment system is a system for the transfer of funds on the basis of formal and standardised rules and common rules for the processing, clearing or settlement of payment transactions.
(12) Electronic communications networks are transmission systems and switching or routing equipment and other resources, including network elements which are not active, which permit the conveyance of signals by wire, radio, optical or other electromagnetic means, including satellite networks, fixed (circuit- and packet-switched, including internet) and mobile terrestrial networks, electricity cable systems, to the extent that they are used for the purpose of transmitting signals, networks used for radio and television broadcasting, and cable television networks, irrespective of the type of information conveyed.
(13) Electronic communications services are services normally provided for remuneration consisting wholly or mainly in the conveyance of signals on electronic communications networks, including telecommunications services and transmission services in networks used for broadcasting, but excluding services providing, or exercising editorial control over, content transmitted using electronic communications networks and services. Information society services within the meaning of Article 1 of Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society services (OJ L 241, 17.9.2015, p. 1) that do not consist wholly or mainly in the conveyance of signals on electronic communications networks are not electronic communications services within this meaning.
(14) Average outstanding e-money is the average total amount of financial liabilities related to e-money in issue at the end of each calendar day, over the preceding six calendar months, calculated on the first calendar day of each calendar month and applying to that calendar month.
(15) A payer is a natural or legal person who holds a payment account and allows a payment order from that payment account, or, where there is no payment account, a natural or legal person who gives a payment order.
(15a) A payment transaction is any act, initiated by the payer or by the payee, of placing, transferring or withdrawing funds, irrespective of any underlying obligations between the payer and the payee.
(16) A payee is the natural or legal person who is the intended recipient of the funds which have been the subject of a payment transaction.
(17) A payment account is an account held in the name of one or more payment service users which is used for the execution of payment transactions.
(18) An account servicing payment service provider is a payment service provider that provides and maintains a payment account for a payer.
(19) A remote payment transaction within the meaning of this Act is a payment transaction initiated via the internet or through a device that can be used for distance communication.
(20) A payment instrument is any personalised device or set of procedures agreed between the payment service user and the payment service provider and used to initiate a payment order.
(21) A direct debit is a payment service for debiting a payer's payment account, where a payment transaction is initiated by the payee on the basis of the payer's consent given to the payee, to the payee's payment service provider or to the payer's own payment service provider.
(22) A credit transfer is a payment service for crediting a payee's payment account with a payment transaction, or a series of payment transactions, from a payer's payment account by the payment service provider which holds the payer's payment account, based on an instruction given by the payer.
(23) Authentication is a procedure that allows the payment service provider to verify the identity of a payment service user or the validity of the use of a specific payment instrument, including the use of the user's personalised security credentials.
(24) Strong customer authentication is authentication based on the use of two or more elements that are categorised as knowledge (something only the user knows), possession (something only the user possesses) or inherence (something the user is) that are independent, in that the breach of one element does not compromise the reliability of the other elements, and is designed in such a way as to protect the confidentiality of the authentication data.
(25) Personalised security credentials are personalised features provided by the payment service provider to a payment service user for the purposes of authentication.
(26) Sensitive payment data means data, including personalised security credentials, which can be used to carry out fraud. For the activities of payment initiation service providers and account information service providers, the name of the account owner and the account number do not constitute sensitive payment data.
(27) Digital content means goods or services which are produced and supplied in digital form, the use or consumption of which is restricted to a technical device and which does not include in any way the use or consumption of goods or services in physical form.
(28) A payment brand means any real or digital name, term, sign, symbol or a combination thereof, capable of denoting under which payment card scheme card-based payment transactions are carried out.
(29) Own funds means funds within the meaning of Article 4(1), point 118 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 1; L 208, 2.8.2013, p. 68; OJ L 321, 30.11.2013, p. 6; L 193, 21.7.2015, p. 166), as last amended by Regulation (EU) 2016/1014 (OJ L 171, 29.6.2016, p. 153), whereby at least 75 per cent of Tier 1 capital must be held in the form of Common Equity Tier 1 capital under Article 50 of that Regulation and Tier 2 capital must not exceed one third of Common Equity Tier 1 capital.
(30) Initial capital within the meaning of this Act is the Common Equity Tier 1 capital consisting of the items referred to in Article 26(1), first sentence, points (a) to (e) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013.
(31) Safe, low-risk assets within the meaning of this Act are assets falling into one of the categories referred to in Article 336(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 for which the specific risk own funds requirement is no higher than 1.6 per cent, but excluding other qualifying items referred to in Article 336(4) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013. Safe, low-risk assets within the meaning of this Act also include units in an undertaking for collective investment in transferable securities that invests solely in the assets referred to in the first sentence.
(32) A cash withdrawal service is the dispensing of cash by means of automated teller machines on behalf of one or more card issuers, without concluding its own framework contract with the customer withdrawing money.
(33) A payment initiation service is a service to initiate a payment order at the request of the payment service user with respect to a payment account held at another payment service provider.
(34) An account information service is an online service to provide consolidated information on one or more payment accounts held by the payment service user with either another payment service provider or with more than one payment service provider.
(35) The acquiring of payment transactions (acquiring business) is a payment service provided by a payment service provider contracting with a payee to accept and process payment transactions, which results in a transfer of funds to the payee; the issuing of payment instruments comprises all services whereby a payment service provider contracts to provide a payer with a payment instrument to initiate and process the payer's payment transactions.